Early Chelsea team news ahead of Arsenal as Mauricio Pochettino says £42.5m star is a huge doubt

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has insisted his team is more than just a Cole Palmer show ahead of their crunch Premier League game against Arsenal tonight. 

The £42.5million signing from Manchester City is a doubt for tonight's game having failed to train on Monday. This is the first time he will likely miss a league game for the Blues since joining them in the summer. 

Palmer has been the main man for Pochettino and his absence in a London derby will be a blow but Pochettino, who confirmed he was a doubt is hopeful that others will step up and shine. 

He told reporters ahead of the game: "Today, no. We need to assess him tomorrow morning. But today, no, I don't believe he can be involved, but we need to assess him tomorrow and then we can decide. 

"Even if he will be good tomorrow, maybe he is not in a condition to play. I hope he can recover from this situation as soon as possible and be involved again with the team.

On Chelsea being able to win without him, he said: 

"With or without, we believe that we can win. The most important thing is the team, the collective. Of course, he is an important part of the team. 

“He is doing fantastic for us, but this is Chelsea and plenty of players can perform and do the job also."

There is more misery in the team news with Malo Gusto who has impressed massively in the absence of Reece James also a doubt for the game. 

Ben Chilwell cameoed at Wembley against Manchester City but is also a doubt for tonight but there is some reprieve with Robert Sanchez back in training as well as Lesley Ugochukwu who is yet to kick a ball this year. Both Sanchez and Lesley are likely to be involved tonight.